A horrible rapper who is too old to be in the industry any more. Cam'ron has proven this perfectly in his song "You Got to Love It", in which he mentions when Jay Z wore open toe sandals with jeans(how gangster is that?). Jay Z also tries to act cool when he is in his 40's.

Jay Z is a discrase to the New York Jets and the teams fans(like myself), and should never wear any Jets memorabilia again.

Pretty much everyone who has written a definition for Jay is a fucking idiot. Jay-Z is one of the most lyrically brilliant rappers in raps short history. Thats not arguable its a fact. It is true that he began to commercialize his rap after his outstanding debut album Reasonable Doubt (one of the best rap albums in history) and that was unfortunate, but he turned it around with the Blueprint which was a great album and Blueprint 2 and Black Album were also very good. If I see one more person write that Jay-Z is fake or is a pussy im gonna go fucking insane. The beauty of the Jay-Z vs. Nas battle was that they are both lyrically brilliant, they both have lived what they say and are straight from some of the most infamous housing projects, or "hoods" in New York City and every accusation they made about eachother being fake was a lie. Jay-Z and Biggie Smalls were like fucking best friends (besides Puff) so of course they are gonna take some bars from eachother. Wait, who was in the two best collaborations Notorious B.I.G has ever done? Oh yeah - Jay-Z (Brooklyns Finest, I Love the Dough). Hes fake even though he was a huge drug dealer, and stabbed a guy just for leaking bootlegs of his album into the street (OH HE FUCKING FAKED THAT, OK THATS A FUCKING SMART THING TO SAY CONSIDERING THAT LANCE RIVERA MADE A PUBLIC STATEMENT THAT HE SAW JAY WALK OVER TO HIM IN THE CLUB AND STAB HIM). If he was that fake and that much of a pussy would "The Game" throw positive lines at him in pretty much everyone of his songs and describe him as a legend? Just because he fucking makes songs that the mainstream pop audience likes doesnt mean hes a motherfucking fake and anyone who knows anything about Rap and its history knows that, if u disagree your a fucking moron and u shouldnt be allowed to listen to rap music.

"I'm not a biter I'm a writer for myself and others
I say a B.I.G. verse, I'm only biggin up my brother
Biggin up my borough, I'm big enough to do it
I'm that thorough" --- Very True

DOWNLOAD THE 7 MINUTE FREESTYLE HE DID WITH BIG L AND THEN SAY HES NOT A GOOD RAPPER

also buy Reasonable Doubt and realize its one of the best rap albums ever made, better then Illmatic (barely)

Jay-Z was a hip-hop artist in the 1990's. Jay-Z was pseudonym for Sean Carter, dirivative of his New York childhood nickname, Jazzy.

Jay-Z, over the period of his career in hip-hop, was very successful, and had a slew of hits, such as "Can I Get A..." "Big Pimpin" and "Hard Knock Life". Jay-Z's debut album "Reasonable Doubt" did not receive much success, but much acclaim for those who found the album. His later work was geered more towards a pop-oriented crowd, however, they became more and more successful. His "Blueprint" album was seen as his masterpiece, but not quite topping "Reasonable Doubt". Jay-Z and mogul Damon Dash started Rocafella records. He announced his retirement in early 2004 and "The Black Album" was his last album.

During Jay's career, he engaged in a feud or "beef" with another popular rap artist named Nas. Both MC's were considered applicable opponents for each other, unlike many beefs, and there would be no clear victor if they were to ever MC battle. Many people decided to take sides on this fight, while many stayed neutral.

This posters opinion:

I like Jay-Z. Though I always like the hip-hop stylings of Public Enemy, Run D.M.C, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Beastie Boys better, I still have an amount of respect for him being a known pop-oriented rapper and still making good albums and keeping a certain amount of street credibility. As for what side I take on the feud, I'm going to go with Jay. Though I do thoroughly enjoy Nas and his "Illmatic", I feel that Jay just made better albums than Nas, which is a factor which is very important to me.

"A good example of hip-hop's influence on pop music in the 1990's would be Jay-Z"

Man who grew up in New York, and sold drugs to get money. He then became a rapper and quickly rose to the top of the New York rap scene. Now a days he's got his own shoe line S.Carter on Reebok, co-founded the clothing line for men and women, Rocawear. Had beef with artists such as Nas and Mobb Deep but currently ended the beef with Nas to make major beefs with former State Property members such as Peedi Crakk, Young Gunz and former friends Damon Dash, and Memphis Bleek. He also bought the New Jersey Nets and plans to bring them to his home town in Brooklyn in 2008.

Jay Z Came out with hits such as: H to the Izzo, Bonnie and Clyde (I forget the date); Girls, Girls, Girls; and Jigga my Ni**a.

One the best rappers in Hip-Hop history. Born and raised in Marcy Projects located in Bed-stuy Brooklyn, he picked up the torch for NYC and for Brooklyn after the death of the Notorious BIG was murdered. Know for being one of the most consistant rappers in Hip-hop, putting out a new album every year in his career. Jay-Z left his mark on Hip-Hop with classic LP's like Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album. Jay-Z is idolized by many of rap musics biggest names, as some refer to him often and even sample his voice in their songs. Jay-Z is a trend-setter and a very smart business man, owning numorous companys, and endorsing many products. Jay-Z's retirement concert which took place in Madison Square Garden sold out in minutes which is unheard of for Hip-Hop. Jay-Z sold out the concert singlehandedly, being the only performer scheduled to perform that night. Jay-Z is certainly one of best, if not the best rapper to ever grace the mic.